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Mortises START WITH A SHALLOW DADO Use an upcutting spiral bit and dust collection to keep dust from packing the slots. The dark stain on the jig is wax for easy routing action. back edges of the panels. Also, keep in mind that several smaller mortises and tenons will be stronger than one or two oversize ones because of the increased glue surface. To cut the mortises I use a jig that works with a 5⁄8-in.-dia. guide bushing and a 3⁄8-in.-dia. spiral upcutting bit (see drawing, p. 45), though other combinations would work. The jig has a long guide slot that lets me rout not only the shallow dado but also the individual mortises. I use small, tight-fitting spacers that drop into the slot to limit each cut. Carefully mark the center of the slot both horizontally Mark centerlines. The jig and all of the workpieces need centerlines for alignment. Notice that Hubel has also laid out the actual mortises on the first workpiece (above). Use the centerlines to position the jig side to side (right). The fence takes care of the rest. ADD SPACERS FOR ANY ARRAY Cut individual spacers from the same long strips you made earlier, and they will press snugly into place in the template slot. Factor in the offset at the ends of the mortises when cutting the spacers to length. Jig Router bushing and vertically. You’ll use those marks to align the jig on the first workpiece, which also should have the layout marks on it. Mark a line on the underside of the jig where the panel ends. Then attach a fence along that line. After cutting the spacers to length, you can lay out the first workpiece and start mortising. Mark a centerline on the workpiece, and align the jig’s centerline with that, while pulling the end of the panel flush against the fence. Clamp down the jig in that position. With the dado spacers in place, first rout the long dado. Then use a combination of the other spacers to rout the through-mortises. I square up the ends of the mortises later during the fitting process. Rout the tenon using a jig Cutting a row of multiple through-tenons to match a row of mortises is usually very tricky, but my tenon jig delivers Spacers for shallow dado Case side Spiral bit Long dado first. Pop in the pair of end spacers (above), set the depth, and rout the dado in one pass (right). Dust collection is a must to clear chips that could get compacted and interfere with the router’s travel. 46 FINE WOODWORKING Photos, except where noted: Asa Christiana